Elvis Presley didn’t just want to sing in movies. He wanted to be a real actor, in the mold of his heroes James Dean and Marlon Brando.
And in 1960, he finally got his shot.
Fresh out of the Army, Elvis starred in Flaming Star, a gritty Western directed by Don Siegel, who later made Dirty Harry. The script had reportedly once been considered for Brando himself.
Elvis played Pacer Burton, a young man with a white father and a Kiowa mother, caught in the middle of a violent conflict between settlers and Native Americans. It was dark, tense and emotional, and nothing like the fun, carefree Elvis fans were used to.
He sang only two songs in the whole film, the title track and one short number near the start. The message was clear: this movie was about his acting.
His co-star was Barbara Eden, who would later become famous as the genie in I Dream of Jeannie. She has spoken warmly about working with Elvis, describing him as a genuinely good actor who took the role seriously and brought real depth to it.
Barbara Eden talks about Elvis
Just weeks earlier, Elvis had released G.I. Blues, a light musical comedy packed with songs. It was a big hit.
Flaming Star did respectable business, but it didn’t come close to G.I. Blues. His next dramatic film, Wild in the Country, didn’t set the box office on fire either.
Then came Blue Hawaii in 1961, full of songs, sunshine and pretty girls. It was a smash, and its soundtrack album became one of the biggest sellers of his career.
For Hollywood and Colonel Tom Parker, the lesson was simple. Musical comedies made money. Serious dramas didn’t make enough.
For most of the 1960s, Elvis was locked into a string of lighthearted musicals with beaches, race cars and catchy soundtracks. The films were profitable, but the scripts rarely gave him anything challenging to do. By the end of the decade, Elvis was openly frustrated with them.
Barbara Eden has said she felt the studios missed a real chance to let him grow as a dramatic actor.
Watch Flaming Star today, along with King Creole, the 1958 drama Elvis himself reportedly considered his best film, and you can see it. There was a serious actor in there, waiting for the right roles.
Hollywood just never gave him enough of them.